Zeroworks.org interview - Cilanntrus, 2001
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Cilanntrus from Zeroworks.org interviews Kris Swenson of 99 names of god.

Q: What do you guys hope to accomplish as a band? Is it a labour of passion or something more?

We’ve all been involved in artistic activities from an early age, so this is really just a way of life for all of us. We always strive to be completely open to new ideas & try anything at least once. Life’s too short not to.

Q: Is there a single force behind the writing of the music or do you guys prefer to combine the strengths of everyone in the band?

We all write our own parts in the music; this combines our varied influences & maintains each person’s importance as a contributor. Though Mark programs all of the electronic percussion & synth parts as well as writing his own parts (you could say he fills the role of 2 people in the band).

Q: I know that (good) drummers (ie. not insane) can be hard to come by. Do you choose to use soley programmed drums or would you prefer a live drummer? Or perhaps a mix of the two.

We’ve tried all of the combinations.. .live drums, electronic drums & even a live/electronic drum combination. So far, we like electronic percussion the best. On a limited budget, it allows us to have the most creative writing freedom. If a drummer could play the schizy patterns we program, he would need 8 arms. (Or it would have to be Bill Bruford or Terry Bozzio, but they’re currently not taking requests ;-) Plus you just get such a customizable sound from programmed electronics. With midi, the potential is limitless...

Q: Your ‘sound’ is rather unique to say the least. Can you describe your setup? 

The most unique element of the band is Mark Cook’s Warr Guitar (a custom
12-string tapstyle guitar made by luthier Mark Warr; a stereo instrument with 5 bass strings that are inverted 5ths & 7 melody strings in 4ths. He plays simultaneous bass & melody parts that are totally independent of each other, so really, he is both a bass player and guitar player. Recently, he’s gotten an electronic E-bow, and he gets some great sustained note lines from it. We also use the Roland MC 303&505 Grooveboxes. The Groovebox series is typically used for its presets, but Mark programs all of the sounds & patterns (melody & percussion). He’ll midi in sounds from various sources & re-create them until he gets a completely new sound patch. The electronic percussion patterns are intrinsic to our sound because each program can be entirely different from anything we’ve previously written because of the broad sound palette we have to choose from. Mark also plays fretless guitar and uses various looping devices (Oberheim Echoplex & the Boomerang).
Our newest member, Les Heifner, plays soundscape guitar with an Epiphone Les Paul run through a pc. He uses EAX Lx processing software, and uses his pc setup live. He also adds loops & samples... people always enjoy seeing & hearing him play.
I run my vocals through a Digitech S200 voc-fx processor. Within this unit you have the usual — reverb, delay, etc. Then you have more abstract fx like pitch shifting, ring modulators & vocoders. The fx are fun to play with :-)

Q: How would you describe your sound?

William Burroughs used a method of writing called the "cut-up" method. You could say we apply the same concept in the construction of our pieces. You could also say we construct in ‘stream-of-consciousness’ style. If I had to name a genre, it would be ‘experimental’. And not only the music, but conceptually we’re always experimenting with new ideas. I guess you could say that stylistically, our music is a blend of progressive & electronic influences with lots of other flavorings. The three of us are into a lot of the same music, and that brings us together at the foundation. Then the pieces become schizophrenic as our individual influences pop out. I wouldn’t really know who to compare us to...

Q: How has your sound changed since your experiences with Tappistry v. l & 2?

Our approach has remained the same — to allow the music to come out without much editing interference to produce a style based on the concepts present within the pieces. (we try not to limit our output or sculpt it too much in any one direction)

Q: How did you record "eXcursions"? What was the process?

The entire recording was done on a Roland VS-880 digital 8-track. (Overdubs were kept to a minimum, we wanted an honest sonic representation of the way we sound live; we wanted to abstain from over-production). Despite the elements that remain consistent in each song (pre-programmed percussion/synth patterns & most of the vocal lines) portions of the cd were improvised. Then when the recording was complete & mix levels were determined, we took the VS-880 to a studio near us where it was mastered.

Q: Who produced the album?

The cd was mastered by Chuck Ebert, a local sound engineer, though 99 names did all of the recording & mixing.

Q: Your album has been released by Red Moon Records. Could you tell me a bit about the label? [I noticed that the RMR page is at your site -- is this a side-project of the band’s?]

Red Moon Records (RMR) is a way for us to maintain proprietary privileges to all of our music. This means everything we do is out of pocket & all promotions are our own responsibility, but everything has a trade-off. At least we own all of the copyrights which means that monetary revenues earned are exclusive to us & that is better in the long run.

Q: What are everyone’s dayjobs? Is anyone lucky enough to work in the music industry?

Mark & I work at the University near by, our jobs are extremely mundane.  Les works for a pc support group & freelances as a web designer & programmer.

Q: How often does 99 names of God play shows?

We’ve been playing around 5 or 6 shows a month (in the DFW Texas area), and as we play live, we meet bands & have begun to collaborate efforts in booking performances with a few of them.

Q: The internet, as potentially powerful as it is, can be quite the endless sea of confusion to the uninitiated. How do you guys feel about using the web for marketing and promotion?

Everyone has to learn it at some point, it has become an integrated form of communication in our society. And though it seems chaotic now, I hope that the internet will evolve & become more cohesive in the future. Evolution is the natural process of things, so I’m certain it will progress this way. We're in exciting times & I’m thrilled to see the sort of information dissemination that is occurring because of the web, and it certainly has been a beneficial tool to us.

Q: How have your experiences with internet promotion been so far?

The web is a great marketing lever to reach a wider audience than would have been possible 10 years ago. Although, comparatively, our best promotion is still our live performances. That’s when we sell the most cds.

Q: Lastly and most importantly, are you guys having a kick-ass time with 99 names of god? [it is all about the love of music after-all, right?]

We’re having a great time. Our audiences have been very supportive of our style of music & our possibilities and opportunities are increasing exponentially. We can’t wait to release our second cd.

(Reprinted with permission from ZeroWorks.Org)